Report Says Johnson Will Stay at Penn State

I'm sure we'll see more on this story in the next 24 hours but David Jones of the Harrisburg Patriot-News really has the news: Larry Johnson has decided to stay at Penn State, Jones reports, attributing his scoop to dependable university sources.

This is big news for Penn State, which has done quite well recruiting the Washington area, with Johnson leading the charge. His success recruiting around the Beltway likely is what made him so attractice to Illinois, which also had scored well here in recruiting, thanks to former assistant Mike Locksley, who now is the head coach at New Mexico. Read some previous posts if you need to know more about the Lobos.

Johnson's job status has been on the minds of several local players who have committed to Penn State as they wondered whether he would make a jump to the rival Big Ten school. If Johnson had left, I'm sure some of those players would have reconsidered their decisions. Now, one has to wonder how much success Illinois will have recruiting locally; H.D. Woodson wide receiver Joelil Thrash is the only local player to have committed to play for the Illini next year.